Wedding Traditions During A Wedding Ceremony
Wedding traditions during a wedding ceremony have always been a wonder as to how or whenthese little things we take for granted were started. There are many traditions and customs that have been going on for hundreds of years, but how did they evolve into the customs that we currently know now. Traditions such as everything to do with the aisle (what side to stand on orthe runner), bridesmaids and groomsmen or even the bouquet and the flowers.
Groom/Bride Sides of the Aisle
The reason that the bride and groom’s families sit separately, as well as on opposite sides, beganback when the bride’s father would offer his daughter to a tribe in which they were havingproblems with as a sign of a peace offering. The opposite sides were established so that therewould be no bloodshed between the two tribes and bring the two groups together, thus ensuringthat there would be no war between the tribes.
The Bride on the Left
Usually the bride stands on the left side of the aisle, while the groom stands on the right. Turnsout that there was a good reason for it back in the old days. Apparently people would be knownto try and rescue the bride if she had been taken or if ex-suitors still fancied the bride. The groomwould have to have his right hand free to be able to grab his sword and fight them off. After allhis left hand was holding his bride-to-be’s hand.
Bridesmaids and Groomsmen
The purpose for having bridesmaids was to confuse the evil spirits, as they thought the spiritswere lying in wait for the actual bride. Therefore, they thought that if they had other nicelydressed women around the bride, the spirits would not know which one was the actual bride.The early days of marriage were quite brutal as they would capture the bride and it was the bestwarrior’s job to fight the other men off for the groom and to keep her family from finding them.Over time the best warrior turned into the best man.
Bouquet and Flowers
The wedding bouquet was originally made of a combination of strong fresh herbs, like thymeand garlic, to ward off the evil spirits. It also helped with the smell of the attendants, as theyapparently did not bathe much back then. The flowers at a wedding are meant to symbolize the beginning of a new life, fertility and never ending love.
The White Aisle Runner and The Kiss
The runner was white as a reminder of God’s holiness and by walking on it you were consideredto be walking on holy ground. By having the runner in the wedding, meant that God would beactively involved in the wedding. In the Roman times, a kiss was considered as a way to sealall contracts and therefore the reason as to why a wedding always ends with “you may now kissyour bride.” After all, a marriage is the biggest and most important contract that you will ever have between your spouse and with God.
The Unity Candle
The lighting of the unity candle is a tradition that began with the Roman Catholic and Protestantchurches. As you take the two individual candles, which represents you and your spouse-to-be,and bring the two flames together to light the one and therefore having only one flame. Lighting the unity candle means you are proclaiming to everyone that you have united as one. Once thetwo of you blow out your single candles, you are considered as blowing away your former singlelife and forming a new life together as husband and wife.
The Jumping of the Broom and Stomping of the Glass
Jumping the broom is a ceremony that started back in the 1600’s from Africa. When the slaveswhere brought over they were not allowed to marry, therefore they would perform their ownwedding traditions and rituals from their tribe and would jump over sticks to represent fertilityand good fortune to the bride and groom. In today’s ceremonies, it has come to represent thesweeping away of the single life and jumping into a new and fun adventure as husband and wife.The Jewish tradition of stomping on a piece of glass in a napkin (for safety reasons) is believed to represent the destruction of the Holy Temple of Jerusalem and could also symbolize that along with great joy comes great sorrows.